Recommend you check the oil level all the ways you stated - you want to be confident in what you're doing. If you check it several ways within a day, you'll see how the different ways cause a different reading. I can tell you that immediately after shutting the Murano's engine off, there is still oil up in the engine, and it takes some time for it to drain down into the oil pan.

For the oil brand question, please see my reply to the "Oil sludge" thread (trusted mechanic discussion). I have used full synthetic in our '06 Murano since the 1st oil change. It has 36K, and am just now switching to Mobil1 (from Castrol). When I look into the engine through the oil fill tube, it looks great with no deposits.

i have a 2005 murano,
the user manual says that i should warm up the engine then shut it off for about 10 minutes than check the oil level.

can't i just check it after the car had passed the night in the parking lot without the warm up senario, will i get a wrong reading if i do?

is there any motor oil brand name recommandation, i read about the specs but is there any brand that suites our MO better?

thx guys

naw that will give u a false reading just follow directions in the manual also try to be at a even/level surface aswell. as for brand i been with mobile 1(5w30 fully synthetic) for sometime now and actually had just switched to valvoline 5w30 synpower this recent oil change. cause another member on infinitihelp was telling me that mobile 1 just changed the formula on the 5w30and its not as good,and suggestedthe valvoline. but from what i noticed it idles smoother with the valvoline oil.

well im not gonna say u can cause few people have put oil thats not 5w30. is their a reason u are using that oil, did your mechanic reccomend that but did he say why? im not too knowledgeble on oil but from i learned is that most people would use thinner oil for winter time cause of the cold hense 5w30(5 is the cold weather temp "w") and then use thicker oil in summer times. i have used 0w40 before but on another car